


Belated

by Rizhae



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel in the Bunker, Christmas, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2014-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-04 07:25:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2985188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rizhae/pseuds/Rizhae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just because it's a few days late, doesn't mean they can't have a Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Belated

“Sam, isn’t Christmas soon?” Sam looked up from the eggs he had been cracking for breakfast to glance at the angel.

“Oh, I think it was yesterday, actually… why?” With the amount of cases the brothers and angel had been working lately, it hadn’t even registered to Sam that the holiday was soon until it had already passed.

“I see… It’s just that, in many of the works which I received from Metatron, Christmas is portrayed as a time of giving and love and family, yet you and Dean did not even seem to notice it.”

“I guess we just lost track- it’s not like we celebrate it anyway, and besides, we’ve been really busy the past few months. But when are we ever not up to our eyeballs in cases?” Sam slid open a drawer and pulled out a whisk, beating the eggs rhythmically. He had paused to add salt before Cas finally spoke again.

“I see. Excuse me.” Without awaiting any further reply, Cas turned on his heel and left the kitchen, obviously thinking of something extremely important and urgent.

Sam made a soft “hmm” noise before returning to whisking his scrambled eggs- he knew from past experience that unless there was some obvious risk, it was best to let Castiel follow whatever quirky whims he happened upon. There was no point in trying to stop him, and besides, the majority of Cas’ odd plans had entertaining results.

Sam finished his breakfast in silence- Dean had yet to make an appearance, but considering the size of the bunker, that wasn’t worrisome whatsoever. After washing the dishes, cleaning a few bathrooms, and sweeping and mopping about ten rooms, Sam began to wonder where Castiel had ended up. A moment later, he realized that it didn’t really matter- not because he didn’t care about Cas, but because since when did Sam keep such close tabs on the angel, anyway? It wasn’t as though he couldn’t take care of himself, and a few years before Cas could be missing for weeks before he or Dean worried about it in the slightest.

What had changed since then? Sam wasn’t exactly sure. Cas had certainly grown closer to the brothers, after the countless ordeals the trio had endured together, but that wasn’t quite it- Sam didn’t feel like he needed to keep close tabs on the angel, per se, but rather he wanted to spend more time with him. Sam wouldn’t go so far as to say he had a crush on Cas, but only because he felt the word made him sound like a middle-schooler. 

So maybe—maybe, Sam Winchester had a slight crush on Castiel, angel of the Lord. And maybe it wasn’t so far off from a seventh grader’s infatuation with the new kid in math class. But it was ridiculous, impractical, crazy, to hold such feelings. And so he suppressed them, ignored them, tried to deny the fact that his heart rate escalated just a little every time Cas was nearby.  
Sam was startled out of his thoughts by the reappearance of none other than Castiel himself, who was carrying about five shopping bags on each arm and looked exceptionally frazzled. It still amazed Sam how even after so long coexisting in the same space, Cas could still appear seemingly out of nowhere.

“Hey, Cas. Where’d you rush off to earlier?” Out of one of the bags, the corner of what appeared to be the ‘Better Homes and Gardens’ magazine was slightly visible.

“Nowhere in particular. The store. I wasn’t doing anything, though. You’ll see.” Sam cocked one eyebrow in confusion, but didn’t press the issue further. There weren’t any plans for the day, and if Cas wanted to spend it reading ‘Better Homes and Gardens’… well, everyone had their guilty pleasures, right?

“I’d like to ask that you remain in your room until…” Cas’ eyes flicked to the wall clock, “I’ll let you know when.” Sam was more than a bit suspicious now, mostly because there would be blood shed if Cas made anything in the bunker look like it had come from a middle-upper class womens’ lifestyle and home magazine.

Sam retreated to his room without protest, still curious about whatever Cas was planning but willing to leave him alone to get on with it, since it was clear he wasn’t planning to elaborate at the moment.

For the next few hours, Sam forced himself to tune out the sounds of crashes and bangs from the direction of the bunker’s main room. He attempted to do research for a while, but the noises were too distracting. A few times, he almost went to find out what Cas was up to just in the hope of making all the noise stop. Also, he was hungry. It was nearly five PM, and all he’d had were a plate of eggs that morning. 

Sam was beginning to question if the sixty-year-old meal rations in the closet were still safe to eat when he heard a knock on his door. He crossed the room and opened it to see Cas standing there, looking simultaneously excited and a bit sheepish. Dean still had yet to make an appearance, meaning that he probably wouldn’t be back for a few more hours, at least.

“Thank you for waiting, Sam. I have finished what I was working on. Uh, if you could just follow me this way-“ Cas’ words were stiff and nervous, serving only to peak Sam’s interest about what Cas has spent the day doing.

“Cas, relax. I live here, I know where the library is- assuming that’s where we’re going?” Cas nodded, relief washing over his features.

“Yes, that’s where we’re going.” Sam hadn’t ever really realized how long the walk from his room to the bunker’s main room was until then, following a half-step behind Cas in slightly uncomfortable silence. That silence was soon broken, though, by… Christmas carols?

With every step, the sound of bells and smells of gingerbread and sugar cookies and ham grew stronger. When Sam turned the corner into the bunker’s library area, he stopped cold, hardly recognizing the room.

A huge tree, at least fifteen feet high, reached all the way to the vaulted ceiling in the entry area. Lights twinkled over all of it, except a section where half a strand had burned out. There were ornaments and ribbons and a few odd things like spoons with ribbons tied to them hung on every branch, and every available surface was covered with powdery fake snow. Garlands and holly were hung on the bookshelves, and the tables each held a massive poinsettia centerpiece surrounded by plates of (slightly burnt and sloppily frosted) sugar cookies. 

It was exactly the Christmas Sam had always dreamed of when he was younger, right there before his eyes. It was so amazing, that all he could do for nearly a minute was stare, half-expecting the crazy illusion to fade away. Finally, he turned to look at Cas, who was staring at him earnestly.

“Do you like-?” Sam cut him off before he could finish the question.

“I love it, Cas. It’s… amazing.” Sam’s voice wavered with emotion, he was so overwhelmed by the scene before him. “Thank you, thank you so much.”

“You are most welcome, Sam. It was nothing.” By the intricacy of the whole thing it was obviously not ‘nothing’, but Sam didn’t have a chance to comment on this before he noticed Cas’ eyes flicking to somewhere over Sam’s head.

Sam glanced up to see a small, unassuming branch hanging there, tied with a red ribbon. He hardly had time to register what it was before Cas’ lips met his own, his lips tasting slightly of frosting. 

The kiss was simple and short, but charged with mutual affection. “Cas, you- I thought you didn’t-“ Sam stumbled over his words once the two broke apart.

“Merry Christmas, Sam.” Cas replied, his eyes lit up by the many tiny lights from the tree. 

“Yeah… Merry Christmas, Cas. Thank you, for everything.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this!! 
> 
> I'm ssastielss.tumblr.com if you want to follow me there that would be cool of you B)


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